As we have been talking about the food hot spots of the South now lets turn our attention to the North. When I say North I am basically going to cover the entire North.
We had stopped at Andhra
for the south, Lets start the north food Hot Spots with Maharashtra Bombay or
Mumbai as its known today has always been known for its street food, its vada
pavs, its pani puris and such … But what actually is the thing that you shouldn’t
miss when in Maharashtra ? “Batata Vada” and “Kande Pohe”.
Okay now moving a little to the east and
Northwards, many of you might not know is that oriya food is one of the best in
India, though it isn’t as hyped as Andhra food, Rajasthani or Bengali food, it
has its charm and some of the best delicacies are found here. Whether you are
going to the Puri Jagannath Temple or to Bhubaneshwar or to Konarak make sure
you eat some of these “Mitha Dali” which is cooked Toor Dal in Jaggery , ghee
and bay leaf, and non vegetarian delights like “Chungdi Malai” which is fresh
water prawn cooked in coconut milk and added spices. And along with these do
have some famous Sherbaths like “ Bel Pana” made with the pulp of Aegle
Marmelos along with milk, sugar and black pepper.
Lets go to the west side
of the country to Gujarat, whether you have those famous Thalis or not make
sure you eat enough and more Guajarati Snacks the best of them are “Khandvi”,
“Dhokla”, “Dhahi Vada” and “Kachori” and the sweets you should hve after all
this is “ Sutarfeni” and “Basundi”.
Now moving on to the
centre or the heart of India , state wise atleast, Madhyapradesh, when you plan
your visit to Khajuraho, the ancient city of “Ujjain” or even to “Bhandhavgargh
National Park”you make sure you taste these “Sabudane ki kichiri”, and the non
veg must haves are “Rogan Gosh” “Biryani Pilaf” and “Keema” and Ujjain, Indore
and Ratlam are known for their “Samosa” and”Kachoris”.
And now going to the
wonderful Rajasthan let me tell you it is the vegetarian heaven. There is so
many varieties of food , that you will not be left wanting more. But here are a
few things that you just must have “ Lassi” in Jodhpur, a very spicy version of
“Bhelpuri” and don’t miss having a wholesome Rajasthani Thali, and if you do
come across “Mewaa Roti” do try it it’s a sweet tasting roti that is absolutely
delicious when hot and with ghee on top, sinful ? yes…
Okay who doesn’t know that
Delhi is a foodie’s Mecca? So the obvious things you just must do are go to
Chandni Chowk and have “Jalebi” and “lassi” and have the famous Mughalai Style
Biryani anywhere in delhi, also try a variety of milk teas that you get there ,
if you are there in winter you will remember having it all your life.
And now we are at
UttarPradesh the yummiest concoctions are “ Zamin Doz Machli” and “Shami Kabab”
for the Non Veggies and “Paneer Pakora” for the veggies, it is known that Chaat
has its roots in UttarPradesh.
And going all the way to
the Northmost and one of the most beautiful places on earth Kashmir, the must
have veggie delights are “ Ladyar Tsaman” and “Nadeir Yakhean” which is lotus
stem in yogurt base, and the simply must have non veggie food is “Rogan Gosh”
and “Syun Qaliya”.
That is the slurpy list of
must have in the hopt spots for a hungry in India in the North, the next blog
will cover in detail the eccentric varieties in the North east …
Parinitha Konanur
